Who's Protecting Who?
by SuperAwesomePandaKitty
Summary: Shikamaru and Temari are given a dangerous mission, Shikamaru is afraid he cannot protect Temari. Temari feels a little insulted that he even thinks she needs protecting. During the mission things are not what they seem but can they save the village and each other? My first multi-chapter. It's in first person between Shikamaru and Temari. Please Read and Review
1. Chapter 1

This is my first Shikatema and multi-chapter fic ^_^ I hope you like it. I will try to update as often as possible and would even like ideas on where you want this story to go. I have ideas myself but I would love to know what you think ^_^

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters (sadly :'(), I also do not own the names of places and such in the show the story however is my idea of how I would like a filler episode to go :P

Shikamaru's P.O.V.

Women! They're so troublesome. They take forever to get ready. They boss you around and they are generally confusing in everyway.

"Ugh, what's taking her so long?" I said pushing my hand through my hair. I'd been waiting outside Temari's apartment for 20 minutes, I had been up since 6 o'clock and got here at 7, a time SHE told me to be ready by!

I decided to go up to the door again and knock, "in a minute!" She shouted through the door.

"Come on Temari! I've been waiting 20 minutes the Hokage's got a mission for both of us and it'll be my ass if we're late." I replied rubbing my eyes.

'What a drag' I thought to myself when suddenly the door opened. And there she was in a midnight blue kimono with small silver stars and crescent moons patterned all around it and a red ribbon surrounding her waist. Her hair was in her usual 4 pigtails and had 4 red ribbons tying them. This is a little embarrassing but my mouth kinda gaped open, she looked amazing. Her fan was strapped to her back and she saw my facial expression and smirked.

"Like what you see?" She asked and laughed as I quickly gathered myself and looked away.

"You look pretty that's all" I said shyly trying to suppress the warm feeling going to my cheeks. I looked at her sideways and noticed her blush then change into her same sarcastic manner.

"I know I do, that's why I took so long, anyway what do you mean we have a mission? The Chunin exams are just finished." She said looking confused.

"I don't know." I sighed, "Izumo and Kotetsu came over to my house and said the Hokage wanted to see us for a mission." I explained sounding bored, "but we really should go now because I really don't wanna face her wrath for being late, she's even scarier than my mom." I said laughing nervously.

Temari relaxed a little and locked the door to her apartment and smiling shyly she said, "okay let's go but I want dumplings first, since it's on the way. I'll get them to take out so you wont get in trouble."

We arrived at the Hokage Tower after Temari ate her dumplings on the walk.

"WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG SHIKAMARU?!" Came Lady Tsunade's booming voice.

'Ugh women are such a drag' I though to myself exasperated. (We were only a few minutes late) "I'm sorry Lady Tsunade, I slept in and got held up," I lied smoothly. Temari glanced at me gratefully.

"You are so lazy Shikamaru! Go to bed earlier or get up earlier, but that doesn't matter now. I have an urgent 'A' rank mission that only you two can do. The Kazekage has agreed to let Temari partake in this mission as long as you are with her." She said the last past a little slyly, too slyly for my liking.

"Why would he only allow Temari to go if I was going?" I asked curiously and a little confused.

Lady Tsunade's expression turned a little sly but quickly went serious when she said, "Temari is the Kazekage's sister, therefore, he wants to make sure she is safe. He believes you will protect her with your life and that you are the smartest person who can."

I considered this for a second then said, "It's true that I would protect Temari with my life, like I would any comrade and sometimes my strategies do help gain advantage over enemies, but I'm not a close-combat type and I'm no where near as strong as Neji or even Naruto, why not ask someone else to go in my place or even someone else to join us?" I asked honestly.

"Shikamaru! I cannot spare anymore manpower and you are strong, have more confidence, besides you were personally requested by the Kazekage to join Temari!" She shouted again, I was about to protest before Temari turned to me angrily.

"Do you think I am weak Shikamaru?! Remember who saved your ass?! I'm stronger than you think! Do NOT underestimate me!" Temari shouted then turned her head from me offended.

'I just can't win against women. What a drag' I thought to myself. "No Temari, you are far stronger than me, I can admit that, okay what's the mission." I said, quickly trying to change the subject.

"Your mission is to go to the Land of Rice Patties and protect and provide strategies for the small village there. They have strong men but don't know how to plan a good defence or attack since their leader was killed a few days ago. A group of deadly armed bandits are trying to take over the village and they have sent for our help. You have 2 hours to gather any supplies you will need for 2 weeks and prepare yourselves for this task. Shikamaru and Temari, I'm counting on you both. The bandits have threatened to kill the women and children of the village if they keep trying to defend their home." Tsunade said calmly although her eyes showed worry.

"Okay Lady Tsunade, we'll do our best!" Temari said confidently.

I was walking out of the room when I hear Lady Tsunade say, "Please be careful you two, there may be something more going on that we haven't been told, if you desperately need back-up, summon your wolves Shikamaru and send 1 to me. I'll give you all the back-up I can."

I turned to her and smiled gratefully, "thanks m'lady." I said walking out with Temari. We didn't speak, I think she was still mad at me for 'doubting her.'

I walked her to her apartment she was about to walk in, "I'm sorry Temari, I wasn't underestimating you, I was underestimating myself. I didn't mean to insult you I'm just worried that if I need to, I wont be able to protect you." I said honestly to her back.

She turned around and her face looked shocked, "Shikamaru, I may be stronger than you but you were able to defeat me at the Chunin exams by thinking up strategies alone. Now you have become stonger and even your strategies are better, I think you would be able to protect me. Not that you'll need to, I'll probably be the one protecting you." She said jokingly, smiling like she was never angry with me.

Don't get me wrong I was grateful but women confuse me to no end. "Are we okay then?" I asked smiling hopefully, I didn't really want to be going on a mission for so long with Temari if she was going to be in a mood with me the whole time.

"We always are," she said, smiling shyly and then she turned into her apartment and left while I turned and headed home smiling like an idiot.

Dad was home when I got there, I walked into the kitchen to ask him something. "Dad do you have any spare medical supplies?"

Dad looked at me confused, "um, yes we do. Why do you ask?" He replied.

I looked at him, my face showing relief, "I have a mission to help and protect a village for two weeks and the medical supplies are just a precaution."

His face turned into shock, "Already? The Chunin exams are just over," I was reminded of Temari as he said that and quickly tried to remove the images of how good she looked this morning.

"I also need food pills in case my chakra runs out and I need a back-up plan," I said a little worriedly, "the Hokage said she needs a strategist and she and the Kazekage have decided that Temari would go on the mission. Also, the Kazekage will only allow her to go on the mission if I am with her." I said calmly and then Dad gave me his 'knowing' look.

"And you need the medical supplies in case she gets hurt," he concluded smirking and sipping his tea. I have never asked for medical supplies directly from Dad for a mission before, our medical supplies are the best in the village, he must be loving this.

"No Dad, it's in case either of us are hurt and our families medical supplies are the best and a medic wont be joining our team. I also just have under 2 hours to get everything packed and ready." I said sternly hoping he wouldn't hear the embarrassment in my voice or see the blood rushing to my cheeks.

"I believe you" he said sarcastically and went to get the things I needed, handed them to me and walked away.

I went into my room, packed my things, a map of the area, a Shogi board and pieces (just in case), and my weapons. I walked into the kitchen and prepared a meal for myself, while also packing food supplies into my pack. I ate in silence and heaved on my pack, said goodbye to my Mom and Dad and began walking to the gates to meet Temari. Who, knowing her, will most likely be late.

A.N. And so concludes my first chapter, let me know what you think, I hope it's okay =3 I have a lot of coursework to do within the next few weeks so wont be able to update (boo!) but I promise you I will try my best to get it done and update quickly. Read and Review please it would make my day and also let me know whether to continue or not. P.S. I chose the Land of Rice Patties only because I like the name lol I don't know why I do but I always have. ^_^


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Shikamaru's P.O.V.

'Ugh where is Temari?!' I thought to myself impatiently. I had been standing at the village gates for half an hour waiting for her to hurry her ass up...God women take ages to get ready. I tapped my foot impatiently and crossed my arms, then I saw her walking slowly towards me, her expression guarded, as if she thought I would explode in anger at her at any minute.

"What the hell took you so long?" I asked her quietly, I wasn't angry at her, not really, how could I be?

"I'm sorry Shikamaru, I took a shower and lost track of time." She said, looking at me with big puppy eyes, a sheepish smile playing on her lips.

'Oh god, my one weakness,' I thought jokingly. I squirmed under her gaze and I could see her sheepish smile turn to a triumphant smirk as she knew she was winning this. "It's okay Temari," I said flustered and then composed myself, "just don't let it happen again."

Her smile widened, "I can't make any promises," she laughed and then giving me her sly look she said, "you're such a sucker."

I smirked back, "maybe I am," I said, not wanting to risk saying anymore even thought I wanted to say _'only for you.' _I would never do that though, she'd never let me live it down.

"Ready to go?" I asked sarcastically.

"Of course, why do you think I took so long?" She said chuckling as I took out the map.

"I've read and re-read the map to devise the safest and quickest routes, if we take this route.." I said pointing to a line I drew on the map. "We should be there by tomorrow evening and that includes rest stops." I said a little proud of myself, I really over-thought everything to ensure Temari's safety, each rest stop I marked on the map was secluded, safe and near a water source.

"Not bad Shikamaru, you really did your homework," Temari said confidently, "Let's go, I got dumplings at the shop before I got here and I cant wait to eat them at the next stop." She said giving me a devious look, daring me to challenge her lateness.

I decided to ignore her and took off, it's not an argument I could win, women are so troublesome and she had to be the best and worst possible one. She was running close behind me as we began running through the trees in silence, it wasn't an uncomfortable one though, it was nice just to be with her actually. My biggest worry was the dangers we were facing, the way the Hokage had said there may be more going on than what was revealed had me on edge. Usually when the Hokage said things like that, she was right. I shook off these negative feelings as we ran, coming close to the trail I had marked on the map.

I stopped and took the map out of my pocket and Temari stopped behind me. "There should be a rest stop close to here," I said pointing to the trail.

"Good, we've been running for ages," she said a little breathlessly, she was right. I hadn't even noticed, a few hours had passed since we left the leaf village and I had been too wrapped up in my own thoughts to pay attention.

"Sorry, I hadn't noticed, let's go to the rest stop, its only around the corner of those trees," I said pointing, she looked in the direction I had pointed gratefully and we ran over and picked a spot to rest. Temari took out her sleeping bag and relaxed on to it, she had told me once of her fear of insects and she refused to lie or even sit on the ground unless she had a blanket or something to sit on.

"I'll go get some water for the journey later, we'll stay here for an hour and then run to the next stop and set-up camp." I said calmly, she looked tired. I handed her a bottle of water, "here take this, you look like you need it." I said shyly as she took it gratefully and gulped it down, she then put the bottle on her forehead to cool herself, her skin had shone in the heat and she looked amazing. I looked away, embarrassed.

"Thanks Shikamaru I needed that," she said blissfully, I just nodded stupidly and went off to get water as I heard her take out her dumplings from her pack.

I ran towards the lake, not wanting to take up too much time, filled the water bottles and ran back. When I got there Temari was already lying down, taking a nap. I looked at her for a minute or two, she looked so peaceful, then I sat down and took out some food from my pack and began to eat.

Once an hour had past, I decided, reluctantly, to wake Temari, "Temari wake up! It's time to go." I said softly, shaking her gently.

"Okay, I'm up," she said sleepily, rubbing her eyes. She stood up and we both began packing our things away. "How long until our next stop?" She asked.

"If we keep going for a few hours, we can set up camp for the night, then it should only be a short distance in the morning to the village." I said matter-of-factly, Temari's face looked relieved.

"That's good, I just cant wait to sleep." She said chuckling tiredly, I rolled my eyes at her.

"And everyone thinks I'm lazy?" I said sarcastically, Temari glared at me and gave me a playful slap on my arm.

"Shut up, I'm tired, I couldn't sleep last night. Why do you think I was so late this morning?" She said angrily. Oh great! She's in a mood with me...again.

"Sorry Temari, I didn't realise," I said, not wanting to anger her, she can be scary when she's in a mood.

"It's okay, I'll forgive you. This time." She said glaring at me, then her eyes softened and she laughed, "God you really are a sucker."

I smirked, "as I said before, 'maybe I am.'" I said rolling my eyes. "Ready to go?" I asked handing her a bottle of water, which she took and put into her pack.

"Of course," she said and we both ran off.

When we reached the next stop, we set-up our camp in a cave, Temari took out her sleeping bag and sat down. I went to collect fire wood while Temari began to eat the food she had brought from her pack. When I decided I had enough wood, I walked back to the cave and lit the fire. I sat down beside Temari to eat my food, I was so hungry and handed Temari my last bottle of water.

"Shikamaru? That's your last bottle." She said shocked, not wanting to take it.

"Temari just take it," I said setting it down in front of her, "I'm taking first watch anyway and I'll be able to go down to the stream and refill them." I smiled, looking at her in the corner of my eye as she smiled gratefully, lifting the bottle and drinking it down in large gulps.

"Thank you," she said, she was looking at me curiously.

"No problem," I said, then I saw her looking at me. "What?" I asked nervously.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked quietly, she had averted her gaze and was fumbling with her hands.

"Doing what?" I asked, I was really confused now, you can never tell what a woman is thinking, they're so troublesome to figure out.

"This? Looking out for me so much, instead of taking the trail everyone else normally takes, you chose this one, you've been making sure I get sleep while you get barely any and you've been making sure I have enough water when you haven't had any?" She said quickly, still not meeting my eyes.

My mouth opened and closed for a few minutes, no sound would come out, I didn't know what to say. 'What a troublesome situation' I thought to myself, 'it's not like I don't know the answer, I just can't say it. I can't lose Temari over my own stupidity, but maybe I can tell her, no, I don't know.' I was lost in my own thoughts, arguing with myself, I hadn't even noticed Temari staring at me now. Her face was sad, silently begging me to tell her the truth.

I sighed, took a deep breath and looked away, "I do it...because I care." I said quietly, barely more than a whisper, silently hoping she hadn't heard, but her quiet gasp was all I needed to know she had heard every word. I sneaked a glance at her, her face was in complete shock and I looked away quickly.

I made to stand up and go get the water, when I felt her hand in mine, she pulled me back down, her free hand went to my face and she turned it to face her.

I still had my gaze averted when she said, "look at me Shikamaru." I looked at her face and she was smiling widely, "you're such a sucker." She said and she kissed me, it was soft and my arms moved around her, hugging her to me tightly.

She pulled away from the kiss and smiled, she kissed me on the cheek, "goodnight Shikamaru, " she said as she went to lay down on her sleeping bag to sleep. I sat there stupidly for a moment or two before shaking myself and heading towards the stream to refill the water bottles. I grabbed some more wood for the fire and walked back to the cave. Temari was sleeping soundly and as quietly as I could, I walked in to the cave and put the wood on the fire, I took a water bottle and set it beside Temari, in the shade of the fire, of course.

I walked to the entrance of the cave and sat down, I guzzled down one of the water bottles I had refilled and kept watch for any dangers. Of course, I knew there wouldn't be any, but when it came to Temari, you could never be too careful.

Temari woke up after a few hours, she gave me a quick kiss on the lips, her cheeks were a little pink, "go get some sleep...baka." She said giggling. I smiled, grabbed my sleeping bag out of my pack and lay down. It took me a while to relax, I was too busy worrying about Temari's safety and what those kisses meant, but eventually I fell asleep.

A.N. Smeh I'm not really too happy bout this chapter, I didn't really know where to take this one, but the next chapter should be better considering they'll be at the village ^_^ read and review please and I hoped you enjoyed ^_^ =3


	3. Chapter 3

A/N So I'm finally writing another chapter for this, I am so sorry for not finishing this. I got major writers block with this fic but I'm trying to be good and finish it. I'm sorry again, have a cookie (^_^)o

Temari's P.O.V.

When the sun began to rise, I knew Shikamaru would wake up and want to make a straight run to the village. I decided to go down to the stream and get washed, I brought a few toiletries from my pack and walked quietly towards the water. I began to wash my face and I changed my clothes, taking my time of course. A girl needs her beauty regime after all.

After I was clean, I sat down and began to eat, not wanting to go back to the cave and wake Shikamaru, he must have been exhausted. I heard my name being called from the direction of the cave, so I lifted my stuff and walked back.

"Where were you? You worried me," Shikamaru said with relief, tutting in that lazy way of his.

"What? A girl needs her 'me time' in the mornings." I said, laughing at his panic. "You're such a sucker, there was no need to worry, I can take care of myself." Something clicked in my mind and my blood began to boil. "Are you still underestimating me?" I shouted angrily.

Shikamaru waved his hands defensively, "no I'm not. I know you can look after yourself. You are stronger than me." He said, I smiled a little when he said that and he sighed with relief.

"You worry too much, you're going to have a permanent worry wrinkle in your forehead." I said giggling, poking him between his eyebrows. He gave me a strange a look but he smiled.

"I know but I'm team leader and I just don't want this to be another Sasuke mission. I just don't think I could deal with that, besides I think your brothers would kill me." He said, chuckling nervously.

"Well it wont be," I said determinedly. "Well, are we ready to go?" I asked, I really wanted to get this mission over with, the Chunin exams had just finished and I was looking forward to relaxing.

"Yeah, I'm just going to check the map again before we go." He said calmly, pulling out the map from his pack. "We should be there by noon if we take this path. It's just a straight run there, so there wont be any need for stops." Shikamaru said pointing to the line he had drawn on the map.

I studied it for a moment, "alright, hopefully it wont be in utter chaos when we get there." I said worriedly. Shikamaru nodded, the same worry evident in his expression, he looked at me for a moment. There was something in his eyes I couldn't place, but it was gone before I could think anything more of it and he turned and we ran towards the village.

O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O

As we neared the village, I felt a few strange chakra signatures and by the way Shikamaru stiffened, he did too and we both ducked behind some bushes.

"Do we attack?" I asked, I wanted nothing more than to attack but I wasn't in charge.

"We can't, we don't know the situation within the village, they may have hostages already, we can't risk it." Shikamaru said calmly. He looked around slowly, "on the count of three, we make a dash for the village, keep your head down and be on your guard. We will most like have Shuriken and Kunai thrown at us," he added worriedly.

"Okay," I said, preparing myself for this desperate run.

"One. Two. Three. Run." Shikamaru shouted as we both took off towards the village, dodging Shuriken and Kunai. I heard Shikamaru grunt in pain behind me, causing me to stop and turn around. He grabbed my arm and pulled me along, not wanting to wait to examine the Shuriken that was lodged into his shoulder.

We ran to the village gates as they opened in front of us, they shut loudly behind us with a bang as both of us stopped to catch our breaths. I turned to examine Shikamaru's shoulder.

"Shikamaru, this is going to hurt but I'm going to pull it out okay?" I said soothingly, he nodded and balled his hands into fists as I pulled out the Shuriken as quickly as I could. He let out a grunt of pain and I took out my medical kit and applied some antiseptic into the wound and began sewing it back up.

"Thanks Temari," he said gratefully when I had finished.

"What happened?" I asked worriedly.

"You didn't notice one coming towards you," he said sheepishly.

I felt something at that but it swiftly became anger. "You Baka! You could have been killed!" I shouted at him, I heard someone clear their throat behind us and we both turned.

"Welcome to our village, sorry but the bandits have us surrounded on all sides. You may have been able to get in, but it is unlikely that you will get out." A man said, smiling sadly at us.

"It's okay, The Hokage, Lady Tsunade sent us to help you. My name is Shikamaru, a leaf ninja. This is Temari, sister to the Kazekage, we're here to help you protect your village." Shikamaru said, I smiled at the man politely.

"My name is Takamura, after our leader was killed by the bandits a few days ago, I became the leader. I sent for help from Lady Tsunade, so I'm glad you two showed up. Every night it gets harder and harder to defend the village, our women and children cower in their homes. The bandits have become more and more daring, we've barely managed to keep them at bay. People are thinking about deserting the village and giving up, can't say I blame them, this is no way to live." Takamura said with a sigh.

"Well we will help you in anyway we can," I said smiling. "Shikamaru's a really great strategist, he's a genius." I said proudly, I looked at Shikamaru out of the corner of my eye and I could see him blush a little.

"You mean the genius you were calling a Baka two minutes ago?" Takamura said, chuckling a bit, his eyes crinkled at the sides, showing how exhausted he was.

"I wouldn't exactly call myself a genius," Shikamaru said shyly.

"Shut up Baka," I said smirking at him. " You can do this and you know it."

"We have an inn that you two can stay in if you'd like. There aren't many tourists that come here anymore so there's plenty of room." Takamura said politely.

"Thank you very much." I said, I was looking forward to a hot shower and a warm bed.

"Thank you, Takamura, I was wondering if you could give me a list of all the people who are fighting here, what they can do and if you have any information on the bandits, I'd like that too." Shikamaru said, I could tell he was tired but knowing him, he would stay up all night playing Shogi with himself to plan out his attacks.

"I'd be happy too, I just can't wait for this to be over." Takamura said, breathing a sigh of relief. "Let me show you to your rooms, then I shall bring you that list after dinner."

We walked in a comfortable silence towards our rooms, my room was just opposite Shikamaru's which, although I would never admit it, it made me feel more at ease. After dinner I walked into Shikamaru's room, since I had just finished sorting out my stuff in my room.

"So, what do you think of this place?" Shikamaru asked me curiously.

"It's not so bad, I'd say it would be pretty nice if it wasn't for all the bandits. Plus the fact that there are women and children too terrified to come out of their homes." I said sadly, I felt sympathy for people in the village, this was their home and these bandits decided to try and take it on a whim.

"Yeah, I agree. I can't shake the feeling that there is something more going on, how about you?" Shikamaru said, rolling his shoulders uneasily as he set up his Shogi board.

"I know what you mean, I can feel it too. I'm not sure what it is but I think we'll be able to handle it though." I said confidently, I walked over and sat in front of Shikamaru.

"I'm sure we will, you wanna play?" He asked, I nodded happily, already thinking of a way to beat him once and for all.

When we started playing, within the first five minutes, I was beginning to lose badly and I found it very frustrating. I spent so long trying to think over this one move, once I had an idea, he beat me. "Checkmate," he said smirking.

"Dammit, how do you always win?" I exclaimed dejectedly, hanging my head in shame.

"You normally used the same techniques, it's not hard to figure out." Shikamaru said jokingly, I growled at him and he apologised.

"Why are you sorry?" I asked confused, I was pretty sure, I was just being a sore loser.

"I didn't want you to be mad," he said shyly, I grinned at him.

"How dare you?" I said pretending to be angry, I caught his eye and we both chuckled slightly. "I think it's about time I should go, I'm going to get a shower and then have an early night, got a big day tomorrow." I added tiredly, giving him a small smile. I walked over with all the courage I had, and kissed him on the lips, he kissed me back shyly and put his arms gently around me.

"Okay, good night Temari." Shikamaru said smiling.

"Don't stay up too late, you need to sleep too!" I said, giving him a look.

"I'll try not to." He said, as he was resetting his Shogi board and looking at his list.

I shook my head smiling fondly and walked into my room, I locked the door behind me and picked up my clothes and got ready for my shower.

A/N phew finished, I'm determined to finish this so I swear I will update soon, if not you have my full permission to chase me with a pitchfork :3 hope you enjoyed.


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